’72 Dodge Demon Drag Racer 1/25 scale

[cobraman]

Looks great, nice work for sure.

[Ian McLaren]

Welcome back to the bench Francis! I like your approach to this subject, keeping your options open really allows you a sense of freedom moving forward and as the project evolves that could prove useful.  Looking forward to this project.

 

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 11/22/2022 at 11:25 AM, Rigor said:

Watching as always francis love your work you should make a mold of that part bet it would sell waiting for the next update 

Thanks Dwyane !   I hear what you are saying about casting my pieces to make copies but there are many unscrupulous people who do not hesitate to copy the work of others to make money and it is deplorable.   However, I take your suggestion as an appreciation of my work and I am flattered.

Francis

On 11/22/2022 at 5:50 PM, Scott8950 said:

Master surgeon at work... Nice job Francis!!!!

Thanks Scott, I still have the graft to do!

Francis

On 11/22/2022 at 8:51 PM, foghorn62 said:

Perfect!

Thanks Tim !  You know too well what I think of this famous word... unattainable but always sought after!

Francis

On 11/22/2022 at 10:47 PM, iBorg said:

Looking at this, your methodology could be helpful on a couple of projects. What kind of speed were toy using on your mill? What kind of guide did you use. They look wonderfully accurate.

Thanks Mike !

It's just a matter of trial and error but I used a 2 flute (0.031") cutter and cut at low speed with my vacuum close to the workpiece.   In addition to cleaning the part as I go along, it helps cool the plastic so it doesn't melt under the friction of the tool.  As for the guide, I referred to a photo on the internet for the size in general if that is what you mean.

Francis

On 11/23/2022 at 2:54 AM, Tortuga Kustomz said:

WAW, this will be fun for sure, MOPAR can't go wrong with it

Thanks Marcos !   I have to admit I'm in a bit of a comfort zone still working on a Mopar, it makes you wonder if I can do anything else... ? 🤔

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 11/23/2022 at 7:06 AM, dragcarz said:

Wow! Just WOW, I’d like a little more detail on how you formed and shaped that rear body panel. That looks amazing!

Thanks Roger !

Another one of my usual trial and error...  Basically, I shaped 2 flat strips of Evergreen Styrene (0.030") with reference to the existing back part of the kit and sanded them to about 10 degrees on a flat surface and glued them together.  I first tried to engrave the tail lights on a flat strip but the spaces between the lenses warped when trying to make the center fold so my only option was to engrave on the pre-formed panel.   I hope this explanation makes sense to you ?

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 11/23/2022 at 9:49 AM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Nice work. 

Thanks Bob !

I am quite proud of it and I think that integrating the transparent red taillights and the transparent back-up lights will give it an even more representative look.

I'm working on it !

Francis

[foghorn62]

21 minutes ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

unattainable but always sought after!

Maybe so, but closer than most.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 11/23/2022 at 11:44 AM, cobraman said:

Looks great, nice work for sure.

Thanks Ray, I appreciate your comment sir !

Francis

On 11/23/2022 at 3:51 PM, Ian McLaren said:

Welcome back to the bench Francis! I like your approach to this subject, keeping your options open really allows you a sense of freedom moving forward and as the project evolves that could prove useful.  Looking forward to this project.

Thanks Ian !

I must admit that my approach is more related to knowing my limits because there is too much unknown and restrictive aspect to making a tribute vehicle and I want to have fun more than to break my head.  I'm getting old... 😉

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 11/23/2022 at 11:44 AM, cobraman said:

Looks great, nice work for sure.

Thanks Ray, I appreciate your comment sir !

Francis

On 11/23/2022 at 3:51 PM, Ian McLaren said:

Welcome back to the bench Francis! I like your approach to this subject, keeping your options open really allows you a sense of freedom moving forward and as the project evolves that could prove useful.  Looking forward to this project.

Thanks Ian !

I must admit that my approach is more related to knowing my limits because there is too much unknown and restrictive aspect to making a tribute vehicle and I want to have fun more than to break my head.  I'm getting old... 😉

Francis

[Ian McLaren]

I know what you mean about replicas, to do one properly you need good documentation, but it's a double-edged sword. One would think more information is always a better thing but there comes a point where you are just chasing details. My Royal Canadian build was a perfect example, the owner of the car supplied me with a thumb drive with about 400 photos of the car in period, restoration process photos of virtually every component, and pictures of the car in its current state.  I also had unlimited access to the car itself during the build.  The model turned out well but to say it was a fun project might be a stretch, information overload was the order of the day and truth be told I could still be working on it. Satisfying, most definitely, would I do it again, probably, but not in the immediate future.  Even then it would have to be a very special subject.

[Straightliner59]

3 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

I know what you mean about replicas, to do one properly you need good documentation, but it's a double-edged sword. One would think more information is always a better thing but there comes a point where you are just chasing details. My Royal Canadian build was a perfect example, the owner of the car supplied me with a thumb drive with about 400 photos of the car in period, restoration process photos of virtually every component, and pictures of the car in its current state.  I also had unlimited access to the car itself during the build.  The model turned out well but to say it was a fun project might be a stretch, information overload was the order of the day and truth be told I could still be working on it. Satisfying, most definitely, would I do it again, probably, but not in the immediate future.  Even then it would have to be a very special subject.

Like you mentioned, Ian, replica building isn't for the faint of heart! Most of the time, even if you can find plenty of period photos for reference, most cars never remained the same from race to race. Back when I built my replica of The Bug, I had very little reference. I had the two-page spread, in the January '73 Hot Rod and two or three small black-and-white photos. At some point, a friend of mine went to Florida, and took pictures of the restored version, there. Of course, that was different than anything I had to that point! I showed the barest of bones of the project to Garlits at a World Of Wheels show in what must have been 1987 or '88. The line was held up, while he started telling me some of the technical aspects of the car--brakes, differential, trans, stuff like that. Long story shorter--the model is in Garlits' museum, as it has been, since 1992!

My Cook and Bedwell may not be the right color of blue. I was convinced it was right, based on the color photo from the 1957(?) issue of Hot Rod's cover that featured the car. I'm now wondering if it's not a couple of shades too dark. C'est la vie! There's always that one more little bit of info that will have you shaking your head, and, often, your fist!😂

All that said, I like to have some leeway in what I'm building--collecting cool ideas from several sources, and combining them in one project. For me, it's important to keep the technical aspects of them correct, not simply limited to chassis and rollcage configuration, suspension setup, and other mechanical aspects of the car, but including graphics/paint that looks like it belongs, proper-era contingency decals, consultation of a rule book, in the case of race cars. Everything else is fair game! I'm looking forward to following this, my friend! 

[dragcarz]

20 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Thanks Roger !

Another one of my usual trial and error...  Basically, I shaped 2 flat strips of Evergreen Styrene (0.030") with reference to the existing back part of the kit and sanded them to about 10 degrees on a flat surface and glued them together.  I first tried to engrave the tail lights on a flat strip but the spaces between the lenses warped when trying to make the center fold so my only option was to engrave on the pre-formed panel.   I hope this explanation makes sense to you ?

Francis

Yes Francis, that helps, I don’t have the tools you have access to, I may give this a try with my hand tools. Your rear body panel is amazing!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Thank you Ian and Daniel for your support, I know you are very experienced builders with the same vision as me regarding tribute cars and we must also keep in mind that this is only a hobby.  We must find pleasure and as little frustration as possible if we want to complete our projects but we are all different and each one must go at his own pace and limits !

Francis

2 hours ago, dragcarz said:

Yes Francis, that helps, I don’t have the tools you have access to, I may give this a try with my hand tools. Your rear body panel is amazing!

No problem Roger, don't hesitate to send me a PM if you need more help.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Thanks for the insight into the process and giving us the benefit of the trail and error for the approach. Will file it away for future reference.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

I just want to share this with you.  I am always amazed by the selling price of these old kits.  Knowing that this kit was probably sold for less than 2 dollars at the time at Kmart, it's hard to believe that it could be worth that much today.  I saw some that were selling for even more...  For this one, converted to Canadian dollars, including shipping, it would have cost almost $700.00...  That must be the inflation... 😳

[AmericanMuscleFan]

7 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Thanks for the insight into the process and giving us the benefit of the trail and error for the approach. Will file it away for future reference.

Thanks for the kind words Bob !

We can't always get it right on the first try, so sharing our experience with people who enjoy and want to build on the same subject is in my opinion the essence and purpose of this forum. 😊

Francis

[iBorg]

3 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Hello everyone,

I just want to share this with you.  I am always amazed by the selling price of these old kits.  Knowing that this kit was probably sold for less than 2 dollars at the time at Kmart, it's hard to believe that it could be worth that much today.  I saw some that were selling for even more...  For this one, converted to Canadian dollars, including shipping, it would have cost almost $700.00...  That must be the inflation... 😳

One thing to remember, this was a one time release. Many stores didn't carry it because it was satanic. Dodge only offered it as a Demon one year due to the public pressure and the Demon became the Dodge Sport. From the 1971 model year, I'd bet this was MPC's lowest production annual kit. 

[AmericanMuscleFan]

18 hours ago, iBorg said:

One thing to remember, this was a one time release. Many stores didn't carry it because it was satanic. Dodge only offered it as a Demon one year due to the public pressure and the Demon became the Dodge Sport. From the 1971 model year, I'd bet this was MPC's lowest production annual kit. 

Thanks for the info Mike, I knew the story about the pressure from the clergy regarding the name of the car at the time but I didn't know that the kit had been a limited production for the same reason.  I hope that I will be forgiven for daring to build a model of it... 😇

Francis

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Hello everyone,

The next step was to install the new back panel to the body shell.  The operation was a little more complex than expected because the Demon and Duster bodies do not have a steel sheet (trunk extension?) between the trunk lid and the rear window.  I opted for the solution of removing all the window trim and gluing a piece of plastic inside to reinforce the structure, plus the glass will be installed from the outside like on the real car.  I was forced to keep the major part of the trunk lid in place (before removing the rest) to keep both rear fenders aligned and get the right position for the back panel.  The trunk gutter will be built next with the back panel now secured and part of the back window frame glued to the interior of the cabin.  I have a lot of good photos to work with, it's a little harder to build than other models of the brand but I think the final result will be interesting.   Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Construction continues,

Francis

Using the existing window opening, I traced and cut a piece of styrene to create the support for the back window.

The rear panel is now glued to the body and the rest of the trunk gutter details are still to be built. Sorry for the blurry pictures, it's hard to get a good focus when there is little contrast.

[Scott8950]

You absolutely nailed the taillight panel.  Great job Francis 

[AmericanMuscleFan]

6 minutes ago, Scott8950 said:

You absolutely nailed the taillight panel.  Great job Francis 

Thanks Scott, I'm usually a very harsh judge of my work but I must admit that this seems to be a nice improvement on the original kit.

Francis

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Francis!

Now, you have me worried. Making your own tail lamps is nice, but be aware that here in Quebec, the DOT zealots are totally inflexible. You WILL have to scribe them with the "DOT Certified" markings, otherwise, you'll not be allowed to use the car. Take it from someone who's been there: they are watching...

Nice to follow your new project. Keep whittling at it!

CT 

[1972coronet]

Another fantastique build in-the-works! Last of the production bore & stroke 426 hemi in P/S (IIRC) before the de-stroked 366 cube iteration (at least in No Hot Rods Allowed classes).

Lettuce hope that Round2 will come through with the highly valuable MPC 1971 Demon 340... mit der upgrades to the body (correct fenders, corrected grille, better interior...) .

[Joe Nunes]

Very nice construction going on here.  I will be following along to learn what I can. 

Joe

[1320]

Wonderful to see you rolling on the next project Francis! It's looking great so far.

Jim

[dragcarz]

19 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Hello everyone,

The next step was to install the new back panel to the body shell.  The operation was a little more complex than expected because the Demon and Duster bodies do not have a steel sheet (trunk extension?) between the trunk lid and the rear window.  I opted for the solution of removing all the window trim and gluing a piece of plastic inside to reinforce the structure, plus the glass will be installed from the outside like on the real car.  I was forced to keep the major part of the trunk lid in place (before removing the rest) to keep both rear fenders aligned and get the right position for the back panel.  The trunk gutter will be built next with the back panel now secured and part of the back window frame glued to the interior of the cabin.  I have a lot of good photos to work with, it's a little harder to build than other models of the brand but I think the final result will be interesting.   Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Construction continues,

Francis

Using the existing window opening, I traced and cut a piece of styrene to create the support for the back window.

The rear panel is now glued to the body and the rest of the trunk gutter details are still to be built. Sorry for the blurry pictures, it's hard to get a good focus when there is little contrast.

I love your thought process, a very analytical approach to the issues of this kit! My uncle was a collision repair tech ( Bodyman ) in the 60s and 70s, he used to get a cup of coffee and sit staring at the repair before starting, I questioned him what he was doing and he said he was repairing the car in his head, weighing the problems he might encounter and the order he wanted to proceed with, so he didn’t mess things up and create more work. I found this advice very sound and I have drank a lot of coffee in my decision making over the years. I can only imagine the cups of coffee you’ve consumed, or is it tea?